Man dies while swimming at Co Clare beach
A man in his 40s has died in hospital after getting into difficulty with a young child while swimming in north Clare on Tuesday evening.
Two people were reported to have been in danger after they were pulled out to sea at Fanore at around 9.15pm. The alarm was raised and a search and rescue operation was quickly mounted.
The Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard, National Ambulance Service and gardaí responded to the scene. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, was also tasked to the incident.
Largest increase in defence budget to build ‘agile’ Defence Forces – Taoiseach
The largest increase in defence spending in the history of the Irish state will build “an agile and modern Defence Forces”, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
The increase takes the Defence Forces budget from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion by 2028 – benchmarked against inflation at January 2022 prices.
A Government action plan, published on Wednesday, also notes the “urgent” need for “HR and cultural transformation” in the Defence Forces.
It identifies the recruitment of new senior-level civilian HR positions as early steps in meeting the goal.
Bill that would link rents to incomes to be debated in Dáil
A new bill that would link rent to people’s income is to be debated today in the Dáil.
The People Before Profit proposal would establish a National Rent Authority and reduce rents to a maximum of a quarter of median monthly household income.
The plan was condemned as unworkable by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who said there would be a flood of landlords out of the rental market.
However, People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett said current rent prices are unsustainable and must be addressed.
“It is simply not sustainable for people to be paying 40, 50 and 60 per cent of their entire after-tax income on just putting a roof over their head,” he told Newstalk radio.
Covid: Return to masking likely needed in autumn, says consultant
A return to mask-wearing will likely be needed this autumn to lower Ireland’s Covid-19 infection rates, according to a hospital consultant.
Despite it currently being the middle of summer, infection rates remain high as the country experiences yet another wave driven by Omicron subvariants.
Consultant Bill Tormey said reintroducing mask-wearing could help tackle a further surge in the coming months.
“Respiratory viruses should be met with an increase in masking, because the only thing that actually helps in these circumstances is masking in the population,” he told Newstalk radio.
